Whittier : Teachers Union Votes to Accept Contract With 5% Salary Increase

Two weeks after they threatened to walk out of classes, members of the Whittier Elementary Teachers Assn. have approved a new two-year contract with the 14-campus Whittier City School District that includes a 5% wage increase for the next year, union leaders announced.

The two sides reached a tentative agreement last week, union President Marilyn Stapleton said. About 87% of the 265 unionized elementary and intermediate school teachers approved the contract in voting last Thursday and Friday, she said. Results of the vote were released Monday.

The teachers had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a walkout early in May after a fact-finding report recommended that the union accept most of the administration’s last offer before the two sides hit an impasse. The walkout never materialized, however.

Teachers and administrators had been negotiating since the last one-year contract expired last June.

The two sides reached an impasse this spring, with teachers demanding a 7% salary increase for the next two years and full fringe benefits for early retirees.

The district had countered with a 5% wage increase. Under a state mediator, however, the two sides agreed on a 5% wage increase and a 1% across-the-board bonus for the first year of the contract. Salary increases for the second year will be tied to the yearly cost-of-living adjustment. The district has agreed to provide full fringe benefits to early retirees.

“No one is dancing” about the contract settlement, Stapleton said. “But everyone is relieved that (the dispute) is over. The teachers feel they made some headway. That’s how we all feel. We made some headway, but not as much as we would like.”